1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving device for a plate-shaped body feeding kicker which is applicable to a feeding apparatus of sheets (plate-shaped bodies) in a paper sheet working machine, a thin metal sheet working machine or the like, and more particularly to a driving device for a plate-shaped body feeding kicker, which can be favorably equipped in a paper sheet feeding section of a corrugated cardboard box making machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At first, a general structure of a driving device for a paper sheet feeding kicker in the prior art will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. Also, a construction and function of a conventional paper sheet feeding section equipped in a corrugated cardboard box making machine in the prior art will be explained briefly with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
In the heretofore known type of driving device for a paper sheet feeding kicker, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a back stop 19 in a paper sheet feeding section is constructed so that it can be moved back and forth on a paper sheet feeding table 20 by means of a screw shaft 22, and the back stop 19 is adapted to be fixed on the table 20 at an arbitrary position within a range of an adjustable amount W indicated in FIG. 4 in accordance with a length (a width in the feeding direction) of a corrugated cardboard sheet 1 to be fed. On the other hand, corrugated cardboard sheets 1 charged from the preceding step of process would strike against a front guide 21 provided as fixed in position and would fall and stack between the front guide 21 and the above-described back stop 19, then they are sequentially kicked out via a kicker 3 starting from a sheet 1a at the lowermost level, and provision is made such that they may be carried out to the next step of process by means of a pair of feed rolls 2a and 2b equipped at the downstream.
As described above, in this kicker driving device, in view of its functions a structure such that the kicker 3 also can be preset in position by being moved back and force as interlocked with the above-mentioned back stop 19, is employed. Describing the construction of the aforementioned kicker 3 in more detail, a screw block 12 forming a female screw is fixedly secured to the bottom of the kicker 3, and with the same block 12 is threadedly engaged a kicker moving screw shaft 5 arranged so as to be rotated as interlocked with the screw shaft 22 for moving the back stop 19. The opposite ends of this screw shaft 5 are rotatably supported by a slider 4 which can slide along a rail 28 closely to the surface of the table 20, and they can reciprocate in the axial direction as integrated with the slider 4.
To the bottom of the slider 4 is fixedly secured a link receiver 23, to the bottom end of the same link receiver 23 is connected a link 15 via a pin 24, and the other end of the same link 15 is connected via a pin 25 to a tip end of a lever 14 which swings about a fulcrum shaft 26.
In the above-described structure, if the lever 14 is swung via swinging means not shown, then the engaged link 15, link receiver 23 and slider 4 can be reciprocated, and thereby the kicker 3 preset at a predetermined position on the slider 4 can be reciprocated with a predetermined stroke S shown in FIG. 4. A claw at the tip end of the kicker 3 is engaged with the rear end of the lowermost corrugated cardboard sheet 1a in a stack under its initial condition, and at the time of push-out operation, it causes the same sheet 1a to pass through the gap clearance at the bottom of the front guide 21, then after the sheet 1a has been pinched by a pair of feed rolls 2a and 2b, the claw would retreat and would be engaged with the rear end of the lowermost corrugated cardboard sheet similarly to the initial condition. Thereafter, the same operations are repeated, and the stacked sheets 1 would be carried out one by one to the next step of process with a predetermined sheet interval held therebetween.
Next, description will be made on an adjusting device for the position in the forward and backward direction of the kicker 3 with respect to the slider 4. The kicker 3 is engaged with the screw shaft 5 via a screw block 12 to which the same kicker 3 is fixedly secured, and it moves back and forth in response to rotation of the same screw shaft 5. Rotation of the screw shaft 5 is effected by rotation of a rod 18 which is driven by a motor not shown via various power transmission means.
Here, the engagement between the rod 18 and the rear end of the screw shaft 5 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. An engaging section of the rod 18 is formed in the form of a bar having a nearly square cross-section, butting metals 17 are engaged with the same engaging section, and the same butting metals 17 are mounted respectively onto four adjusting screws 27 threadedly inserted into the rear end portion of the screw shaft 5 from four directions, so that the gap clearances between the rod 18 and the butting metals 17 can be adjusted by means of the same adjusting screws 27. Accordingly, if the same rod 18 is rotated, the screw shaft 5 is rotated via the butting metals 17. The screw shaft 5 is pivotably supported by the slider 4 via a bush 16 fitted as shown in FIG. 5.
Owing to the above-described construction, the kicker 3 can be variably set in position in the back and forth directions with respect to the slider 4 by rotating the rod 18, and it can be adapted to the length of various kinds of sheet 1. At the same time, the kicker 3 can move back and forth integrally with the slider 4 which pivotably supports the screw shaft 5, and hence, a relative position of the kicker 3 with respect to the rod 18 which is provided at a fixed position is made variable. Namely, since the driving device for the kicker 3 of the heretofore known type was constructed and operated in the above-described manner, various problems as will be described later were left intact.
More particularly, as described in the preceding paragraphs, in the kicker driving device in the prior art, because of the fact that a slide surface at the time of reciprocating motion of the kicker was open type, paper powder was liable to enter and adhere to the gap clearances between the rod and the butting metals, hence the slide surface would become short in oil during a short period, and so there was a problem that wear of component parts is remarkable and so frequent inspections and adjustments were necessitated.